Officer at the Center of the Michael Bell Shooting Runs For Sheriff

KENOSHA, WI (WLIP)–A long time controversial Kenosha story is about to take center stage again.

Albert Gonzalez is the Kenosha Police officer who shot and killed 21 year old Michael E. Bell in 2004, in a shooting that was found to be justified after an internal investigation by Kenosha Police.

Now Gonzalez is running as a Republican for the soon to be vacant Kenosha County Sheriff position upon the retirement of current Sheriff Dave Beth.

The Bell family received a more than one million dollar settlement from the city in 2011 while Bell’s Father, also named Michael, lobbied Wisconsin to no longer allow internal police investigations into fatal shootings involving their officers-a measure Wisconsin and several other states adopted.

Gonzalez has maintained that the Bell shooting was justified, something Bell’s family still contests. Kenosha County Sheriff Sergeant David Zoerner is also running for sheriff next year as a Republican.